


A bad (good) idea

by Vault_Emblem



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Awkwardness, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 21:11:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13796451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: Ned offers Barclay some refuge now that things have gotten too lively.But is it really a good idea?





	A bad (good) idea

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I’ll just say it now so it doesn’t come up in the comments.  
> Yes, I use hyphens for dialogues and quotation marks for thoughts. Why? Because this is how we do in Italy, the country I’m from (actually there’s more freedom in Italy and more than one method to use this kind of punctuation but whatever).  
> This is the method I’ve learned and the one I’m used to, and I don’t think I’ll even change it.  
> Please, I beg you, stop pointing it out, it’s starting to get really annoying, especially when that’s the only thing people comment about.

Uuuuugh… this is awkward.

Ned has to admit that he hadn’t thought this through.

This was a bad idea.

 

Since Kepler has been swarmed by tourists and cryptid hunters his life has gotten much more lively than it’s ever been, which in itself isn’t a problem – actually, sales are going great – but he still has to be careful: he doesn’t want to draw attention from the wrong people.

 

 

He hasn’t really thought about the effect of this great turnout to all the people he’s got acquainted with these last days until the fourth consecutive day he finds Barclay in the proximity of his shop, um, museum.

\- I can’t say I mind having you here -, Ned tells him, - But I gotta ask, shouldn’t you be somewhere else? -.

 

He’s sure Barclay understands what he means, mostly because he really doesn’t want to spell it out in the open like that.

It’s not just because it would be awful if someone heard them, but also because let’s face it, Ned still hasn’t gotten over all the mess that has recently happened.

How’s he supposed to believe now that all the bullshit he’s trying to make money out of is real? And what’s going to happen now?

 

\- Well, with all these people around I can’t risk going back… -, Barclay says, then he gets closer to Ned and he whispers, - It’s better if I don’t lead anyone to the Lodge -.

Ned nods, understanding his logic. Yeah, if someone found the Lodge it would be harder to keep what it’s hiding, well… hidden.

\- So wait -, he says then, - Where the hell are you staying for the moment then? -.

Barclay shrugs, making vague gestures pointing at the environment around them.

Oh.

 

Now, Ned isn’t a good man: he doesn’t do charity and he only cares about himself…

\- Well, if you don’t have a place to stay… you could stay in my house -.

… But for once he’ll make an exception, since in the end it’s his fault that Kepler is full of tourists.

 

 

He hasn’t really expected Barclay to say yes but here they are.

\- Um… make yourself at home -, Ned says as Barclay looks around.

Only then he notices the hat on the coats hanger and with such a quick movement he covers it with his coat before Barclay can notice it; it’s one of that “funny” cryptids merch that Kirby has given him as a gag gift, and it has on the front of it the phrase “Bigfoot is real and he tried to suck my dick”.

 

When Ned first received it he laughed his ass off so hard he believed he was going to die, but he doesn’t think Barclay would find it funny, and the last thing he wants is to make him uncomfortable or to upset him, especially considering that he could snap him like a twig with the minimum effort.

 

\- I wasn’t expecting it to be so… cozy -, Barclay says then.

Ned wonders if he wants to ask him what he means by that, but decides to ignore it.

\- Um… you can rest on the couch if you want -, he says then, - I’ll grab something to eat -.

Barclay nods. His arms are crossed over his chest and he doesn’t seem entirely comfortable to be there, but he still goes to the couch and sits on it.

Maybe he’ll relax after eating something.

 

Ned goes to the kitchen and he rummages through the fridge.

He doesn’t have much stuff – he never remembers to go grocery shopping – but maybe… with this… yeah, he can make it.

 

\- Hey -, he says, and he doesn’t miss the way Barclay jumps slightly hearing his voice.

Surprise soon takes place of the initial uneasiness as Barclay sets his eyes to what Ned’s holding, and then he can’t hold a chuckle.

\- I should’ve expected that… -, he mutters as Ned offers him a Monte Cristo sandwich.

\- I swear I haven’t planned it -, Ned replies, but he too can sense the irony of this.

 

He settles down too and the pair eats in silence, but the atmosphere seems to be more cordial now.

 

Unexpectedly, it isn’t Ned the one who breaks the silence, but Barclay.

\- Y’know, I’ve always been curious… -, he starts, - How did you find the Lodge? -.

\- Ah -, Ned says, his mind already wandering to that day.

\- … Honestly, I don’t know -, he says then and he knows it sounds like bullshit, so he explains, still trying to remain pretty vague though, - I was… I was in a pretty bad place that day and I started to wander through the forest without really thinking about where I was going and… the rest is history -.

Barclay seems lost in his thoughts, then he asks:

\- Did you manage to feel better at least? -.

\- Oh? Oh yeah, yeah I did -, Ned replies, taken by surprise by that question.

 

Some people are just too nice for their own good.

 

\- I thought you hated me at the Lodge -, Ned says then, smirking.

It isn’t necessarily tied to the conversation, just a random thought that he happened to say out loud, a statement without any kind of bitterness or sadness in it.

At this point Ned’s used to people not liking him, and while it used to hurt when he was much younger, now he couldn’t care less about it.

 

The look Barclay gives him is enough to make him regret saying what he’s just said. It’s not hurt exactly… maybe surprise or something between the two.

\- I mean… -, he says then, - Mama definitely hates you, but as for me… I don’t know -.

\- I usually don’t judge people before knowing them well enough -.

 

Yes, some people are way too nice for their own good.

 

\- I really don’t know what to make of you, to be honest -, Barclay says then, - On one hand you seem to be extremely selfish, but on the other you came to our aid with that creature... And you still haven’t spilled the beans about the Lodge… So really, I don’t know -.

Now Ned feels all the sorts of bad for having even thought that you could use that knowledge as leverage.

 

\- That’s… that’s very nice of you to say -, he says, - I like you -.

Barclay chuckles.

\- I don’t know if you should believe you, but thank you… Ned -, he replies then.

He looks away and he seems to be considering his next words, then he says:

\- Also, for the record, I had fun when you came to the Lodge. You’re a weird one, Ned, but you’re charming -.

Well, it definitely isn’t the worst thing people have told him, so Ned takes it as a compliment.

\- You’re the one talking about weird -, he replies, and Barclay can’t help but to agree.

\- Ok, let’s say we are both weird then -.

… Yeah, he can do that.

 

\- So, uh, wanna make fun of those stupid quizzes on tv, o weird friend? -, Ned proposes then and Barclay thinks about it.

\- Why not…friend -, he says then, and finally there’s an actual amicable air between them.

Maybe this hasn’t been a bad idea after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up less shippy than I intended, but it would've felt too forced otherwise. I hope I'll be able to come up with some other ideas for them.


End file.
